Fiona said -
You're quite right here; offhand I can't think of a single society in
which the Earth *isn't* seen as feminine
Actually quite a few middle-eastern civilisations had a male earth god, and a female sky god. An example is the ancient Egyptians (where they were called Geb and Nut respectively).Both Saturn and Mars were originally male earth gods. And I have read some very persuasive stuff that one of the two or three tribal gods who were amalgamated to create Yahweh was an earth/fertility god. And remember the Israelites created the golden calf in honour of 'the queen of heaven' - i.e. a female sky god. While many of Yahweh's totemic symbols, such as pomegranates, lambs and doves, were originally mother earth symbols. It's a highly complex area, and I think masculinity and femininity of deities swapped about more than people imagine, and gods 'stole' from each other.
It is also sometimes forgotten that in northern European religion the sun was a goddess and the moon a god, while in southern Europe it was of course the other way round.
Alison
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